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Social Media Working Knowledge
Using Social Technologyin Pharma Marketing
 Adam Rubin
with Scott Friedmann 
T r u s t 
 P H A R M A
 U s e r - G e n e r a t e d C o n t e n t
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     E   x   p    o   s   u   r   e
   A  c  c  e  s  s
 I n f o
   O   n l   i     n  e
H  e a l  t  h 
B e n e f t s 
 S a f e t y C o r p o r a t e
S O C I  AL 
 
Social Media Working KnowledgeUsing Social Technology in Pharma Marketing
1
Introduction
Brand marketers o dierent product categories have started to embrace social media.Still, a ew industries are conspicuously not taking advantage and have yet to take therst step: pharmaceuticals is one o them.While pharma is desperately trying to nd new ways to engage consumers, they have yetto gure out how to use social media. The reason: Pharma marketers ear that user-gen-erated content will include complaints about injuries caused by their drugs’ side eectsand lead to advocacy o generics. The law requires these ‘adverse events’ to be reportedto the FDA. The FDA’s adverse-event databases are regularly scouted by lawyers lookingor potential class-action suits. Thus, social media is quickly ruled out as an option andall customer interaction is kept to an absolute bare minimum.Lately there has been a lot o discussion surrounding the pharmaceutical industry andsocial media. There is chatter to be ound in orums or web strategists, industry blogs,health and wellness communities, among many other places. Why is that? There issomething more going on than natural conversation at the intersections o popular topics(i.e. digital tools and trends, and healthcare in the U.S.).There is something ascinating about the simultaneous allure and apprehension o themix o pharma and social media.Let’s see what’s going on.
Enter Social Media Mania
Hopeully, social media is well understood. Its methods have been deployed by virtually allindustries and they make powerul ongoing contributions in shaping our world. One neednot look any urther than the social media-uelled victory o the Democratic Party in 2008.The nature o social media is an open one. Its core is comprised o virtues that are notalways easy to articulate but ring true when heard: social media assumes real benets romnetwork eects; the more participants, the merrier. It longs or inormation to be truly ree,available or all to access, mash up and remix, without having the Net Neutrality-aroma oLaw attached to it.Social media reminds us that a good idea can come rom anyone.It returns meaningulresults when the quality o communication is strong, and is impressively equipped withsophisticated etiquette systems and languages dialects. A subtle touchstone o social media is progress.
 
Social Media Working KnowledgeUsing Social Technology in Pharma Marketing
2
Is Social Media Pharma’s Friend or Foe?
 Along with war and the economic crisis, healthcare is at the oreront o people’s thoughts.In the U.S., this is especially true as the members othe baby boom generation o 76 millionpeople born between 1946 and 1964 quickly approach their golden age.Naturally, this hot topic brews potently on the Web. The internet swarms with inormation,resources, constant discussion and debate concerning wellness and healthcare. There’sa massive amount o inormation out there rom all the many participating parties, and it’srapidly colliding with emerging digital trends, tools and services.Social media on the web provides patients with the comort o anonymity, the promiseo sympathy and the opportunity to discover answers. Online social media environmentshave quickly become the go-to-place to engage with online support groups and to discussmedications or treatments with other patients. A vast amount o consumers regularly searchonline or health inormation, oten trusting user generated social media content more thanocial corporate websites.
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